Neil Robertson maintains two-frame lead over Graeme Dott as World Championship final set for late finish

Scotland's Graeme Dott was tonight fighting back in the Betfred.com World Championship final as he and Neil Robertson looked set to take their title tussle beyond midnight.

Australia's first-time world finalist Robertson and Larkhall cueman Dott managed to squeeze in just six of their scheduled eight frames this afternoon, and that meant there possibly 13 to fit in this evening.

After perhaps the most troubled two days in the history of snooker, there was a chance for the two finalists to provide a memorable finale to the tournament, as they chased the £250,000 top prize.

In the driving seat: Robertson holds a two-frame advantage over Graeme Dott

Dott moved from 9-7 to 12-10 as the afternoon action crawled along before the players were called off shortly after 6pm.

That allowed them to have a break before the resumption at 8pm, and
it promised to be tense to the finish with so much to play for.

With 18 frames the victory target, there was a long way to go for
both players, but Robertson managed to maintain the two-frame gap,
leading 14-12 at the mid-session interval.

The latest finish to a Crucible final came in 2006 when Dott
completed victory over Peter Ebdon at 12.52am, and there was every
chance this match would end even later.

Long day: If 13 frames are played in the final session the projected finish is 3am

The situation called into question the strategy of starting the final-day sessions at 3pm and 8pm.

Dott made it 9-8 with a fine break of 79 this afternoon, after
Robertson had potted three reds and on each occasion failed to add a
colour.

Robertson took two back-to-back frames, aided by breaks of 49 and 82.

Thirty-two-year-old Dott, who had to come through the qualifying
stage after dropping out of the top 16 last year, was maintaining his
chances of landing a second world title.

He slipped 12-9 behind when Robertson made a break of 51, but Dott
ended the session on a high with the first century of the final, a
satisfying 112.

Anyone hoping for swift resolution to the match and an early
getaway were given a reality check when the first frame of the evening
lasted 26 minutes, eventually going Dott's way.

Robertson was more clinical at the table in the next frame, with breaks of 55 and 51 restoring his two-frame cushion.

However Dott came back at him again, before the Australian took the final frame before the interval.